


Opposites Attract

by Harukawa



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M, NaNoWriMo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-24 11:11:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 17,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2579462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harukawa/pseuds/Harukawa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of Kuro/Kono drabbles written for NaNoWriMo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I got dared by a friend to write _nothing_ but Kuro/Kono for NaNoWriMo, and I'm not one to back out of a challenge.  
>  Though I would like to note that I'm setting my own personal NaNoWriMo goal at 30k words instead of the usual 50k, as that's much more along the lines of what I can manage given how often I work!

"Kuro..?" Konoha calls, wandering throughout the house and calling for the other. "…Kuro..?" He opens every door he comes across, peeking inside and glancing around before moving on. "…Where’d you go..?" He almost gives up looking, just about to flop over on the couch in despair when he notices the object that’s already occupying the space.

There’s a large, black snake curled into a tight coil resting on one side of the couch, completely unresponsive to anything Konoha says or does to it. “Kuro, what are you doing..?” He reaches out to touch the snake, alarmed when he feels just how  _cold_ the creature is. He vaguely remembers Kuroha mentioning that a snake would die if it ever became too cold, and it isn’t long before he starts panicking. “U-Um—! D-Don’t worry, I’ll, uh…” He dashes off, grabbing a blanket out of the hallway closet before sprinting back into the other room, nearly tripping over himself in the process.

He sets the blanket down, reaching for the controls to the fireplace and turning the fire on before moving to carefully pick Kuroha up. He’s even  _more_ worried when Kuroha doesn’t offer up any sort of resistance (because he  _hates_ being handled like this), hurriedly setting the snake down on his lap and covering it with the blanket. “D-Don’t die, Kuro…” Konoha whines, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “I didn’t know it was that cold, I-I’m sorry…” He mumbles apologies over and over again as the snake slowly warms up, as it slowly starts to move once more.

After what feels like hours, the snake in his lap finally shifts back to Kuroha’s usual form, and the other boy loops his arms around Konoha’s neck in an attempt to pull himself closer. “U-Um… Are you okay now, Kuro..?” And he’s actually crying now, relieved that his fears of the worst didn’t come to pass. “S-Sorry, I didn’t realise…”

"It’s fine." Kuroha mutters, slowly moving to wipe away Konoha’s tears. "…Nothing you need to cry about." Kuroha moves to bury his face in Konoha’s shoulder. "Just… Stay quiet and don’t move for a while. You’re warm." He makes a quiet noise of affirmation, content to sit like this for a while longer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was discussing the idea of Kuroha and Konoha drawing the odd dots on their faces every morning, so...

"…Konoha, hold _still_.” Kuroha mutters, gritting his teeth as he messes up the design on Konoha’s face for the third time this morning. “I can’t draw properly if you keep moving around like that. Do it again and you’re on your own.”

"…Sorry." Konoha mumbles, eyes cast downwards. "I didn’t mean to." And that’s exactly what he’d said the first two times it had happened. "I’ll stay still this time, promise. Please don’t make me do it myself…"

Kuroha rolls his eyes, gripping Konoha’s chin with his free hand to hold him in place this time before _finally_ managing to correctly apply the design. “There. Take a look at yourself.”

Konoha hops up, obviously relieved that he can now move freely once more. His attention is immediately drawn to the mirror, a smile lighting up his face moments later. “Kuro, look, we match!”

"That was the _point_ , Kono.” Kuroha mumbles in response, grumbling and looking away. He can’t quite keep the blush off his face though, especially when Konoha decides to thank him with an over-eager hug.

\------------------

"…Come  _on,_ Konoha.” Kuroha mutters, crossing his arms and giving the other an irritated look. “We’re going to miss our bus if you don’t get a move on. You don’t need  _two_ breakfasts; you’re just going to eat more when we get to school anyways.”

There’s a noise of protest from Konoha, the boy reluctantly leaving his meal before  _finally_ getting his things together. “I’m still hungry…” he mumbles, continuing to whine as he shoves his homework (homework that Kuroha had done for him) into his bag.  Kuroha grabs his arm the instant he picks up his bag, all but dragging him out the door and down the road.

"Let go, Kuro..!" Konoha protests, twisting his arm until he finally pulls free from Kuroha’s grip. He takes a moment to readjust his bag before reaching for Kuroha’s hand with his own, grinning when Kuroha quietly accepts the gesture. "It’s better like this, right..?" Kuroha doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t have to, not when the blush on his face is already giving him away.

"Look who decided to show up on time this morning." Shintaro greets them when they finally arrive at their bustop, and Kuroha hurriedly lets go of Konoha’s hand before shoving his hands inside the pockets of his jacket. A brief glare is thrown Shintaro’s way, though Konoha excitedly waves at the other boy. "Hey… What’s with the dumb circles you guys always have on your faces? Are those tattoos or what?"

"…They’re not dumb." Kuroha mutters, throwing him another glare before pointedly staring at the ground.

"What  _are_ they, though?” Shintaro continues, moving closer to Konoha and getting a little too close as he examines the design. “It’s kinda ridiculous, isn’t it?” He reaches out and runs a thumb over the design, effectively smearing it. “Haha,  _wow,_ you seriously do just draw those on every morning. How lame can you g—?!” He’s shoved away from Konoha moments later, Kuroha suddenly standing in-between the two of them (and if looks could kill, Shintaro would be dead right now).

"I’ll fix it when we get to school, Kono." Kuroha mumbles, doing what he can to calm down a visibly upset Konoha who keeps touching at his face. "I’ll start sealing it so this doesn’t happen again, okay?" He finally receives a nod from Konoha, and wordlessly reaches for the other’s hand once more, supposing he could put up with this at least until the bus gets here.


	3. Chapter 3

Kuroha sighs for what is probably the tenth time in the past five minutes, saving a clueless Konoha from yet another death (though he’s sure Konoha didn’t even _realise_ he was in any danger). ”…Konoha.” he mutters, already moving to intercept yet another enemy targeting his partner. “Konoha, would you  _please_ pay attention?”

"I am paying attention…" comes Konoha’s reply, and he sighs  _again_ as he watches Konoha’s character take off after yet another rabbit instead of actually playing the game. “I’m trying to save all the bunnies… It’s dangerous with all the enemies around… It’d be sad if they died.” 

He grits his teeth together, deciding against pointing out the fact that the bunnies weren’t  _real,_ that they were just useless extras in a video game (because all that would accomplish would be making Konoha sad, and that was the  _last_ thing he wanted). “Kuro, you should help.” Konoha mumbles as he picks up another rabbit (and he’s sure Konoha has an inventory full of them by now). “You collect some, too.”

"I  _am_ helping.” he growls, still fighting every other player that got near Konoha. “You’re protecting the animals. I’m protecting  _you._ Just…” Another sigh. “…Just keep going.”

"…Oh. Thank you, Kuro..!" He mutters a brief ‘You’re welcome’, wondering for a moment why he even bothers with this. He doesn’t have long to ponder, already being forced to take off after Konoha as his partner chases yet another animal. As long as this keeps Konoha happy, he supposes it’s not  _entirely_ terrible.


	4. Chapter 4

"…What’s  _he_ doing here?” Kuroha asks, glaring at the boy currently seated next to Konoha on the couch. “I don’t remember inviting anyone over.”

"Konoha invited me." Shintaro answers, waving a dismissive hand. "So you can get over it." Konoha nods once in response to that, offering Kuroha an apologetic look for not mentioning anything about this earlier. 

"…Whatever." Kuroha grumbles, making his way towards the other two and shoving Shintaro further down the couch so he could claim the boy’s spot next to Konoha. "Just don’t get on my nerves."

"What the hell is your damage?" Shintaro glares at him, obviously displeased at being shoved aside. "See, this is why nobody likes you."

Kuroha opens his mouth to respond, though he isn’t actually given the chance to, Konoha giving him a quick kiss before making a declaration of “I like Kuro..!” It’s obvious that Shintaro is about to give some sort of retort (one that Kuroha  _knows_ would piss him off), so Kuroha does the first thing he can think of, grabbing Konoha and kissing him again and again until the unwanted visitor is finally uncomfortable enough to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

"I want ice cream, Kuro…" Konoha whines, tugging on Kuroha’s sleeve and pointing at the ice cream shop further down the street. "It’s hot out, can we please get some ice cream?" Another tug on Kuroha’s sleeve, and he jabs his finger in the direction of the shop once more.

Kuroha sighs, glancing at Konoha for a brief moment before nodding slightly. “…I’ll buy you some ice cream.” There’s an immediate cheer from Konoha, the boy already pulling Kuroha’s arm in an attempt to make him walk faster. “Only  _one_ cone, though.” Kuroha specifies, his voice firm. “We’re not spending all day here.”

Konoha nods in understanding, finally succeeding in pulling Kuroha through the door to the shop before excitedly looking over all the flavour options. He eventually settles on a half-chocolate, half-vanilla cone, sitting down at one of the tables outside to enjoy his treat. Kuroha sits down across from him after paying, resting his chin in one hand as he waits for Konoha to finish. 

"Hey, Kuro…" Konoha mumbles, pausing after he’d only taken a couple bites. "You didn’t get any for yourself..?"

"…I don’t really like ice cream." Kuroha answers, frowning slightly. His frown deepens when Konoha holds his cone out to him, an obvious offer to share. "…Seriously, I’m fine. Just… enjoy your food."

"But…" And there it is, the pout that Kuroha can’t ever resist. "It’s not really fair if I’m the only one that gets to eat… You should have some, too…"

Kuroha mutters something under his breath, breathing in before reaching forward and taking a bite out of the offered ice cream. “…Thanks, Konoha.” he mumbles, doing his best to hide his distaste at how unpleasantly  _cold_ the treat is.

"Yeah..!" Konoha grins now, already back to devouring his food. "Next time, we’ll eat somewhere you like..!"


	6. Chapter 6

Kuroha didn’t like the other children at school, always bullying any that were unfortunate enough to get near him. If he wasn’t verbally abusing the other kids, then he was shoving them around or starting fights. Not a day had gone by without him being sent to the principal’s office (not that he honestly _cared_ what disciplinary actions they ever took against him).

Eventually the other children learned to simply avoid him, and he liked it that way. He sat alone at lunch, was always the last one picked for teams in gym class, and no one would even _consider_ playing with him at recess. Or… so he’d thought. Apparently this kid hadn’t gotten the memo.

"Hi! I’m Kono!" There’s an annoyingly cheerful white-haired child holding their hand out towards him, and he offers a mildly confused and irritated look in response. The newcomer falters slightly when he doesn’t respond at all, though he seems to bounce back quickly enough. "U-Um… Who’re you..?"

"…Go away." Kuroha grumbles, glaring at Kono. "I don’t wanna talk to you."

Kono blinks several times, confusion etched on his face (and _clearly_ this kid wasn’t very bright). “But… You’re all alone.” The boy shakes his head. “It’s no fun being alone, so… I’ll play with you..!”

"I said _go awa—_ "

"What’s your name?" Kono interrupts, completely ignoring his protests.

"…Kuroha." he finally relents, realising that this kid probably isn’t going to give up.

"K’ro..!" It comes out sounding more like "Crow" than "Kuro" when Kono says it, though he doesn’t bother to correct the other child. "Then… Let’s be friends!" He sighs in annoyance, but plays along with Kono for a while despite himself. Maybe having just one friend wouldn’t be completely awful.


	7. Chapter 7

Kuroha lets out a heavy sigh, glancing at the clock beneath the TV and groaning when the numbers 2:37 flashed back at him. “…It’s already that early..?” He rubs at his eyes, blinking tiredly and staring at the TV screen. “…One more match.” He picks up his game controller once more, cracking his neck before pressing a button and starting up another game. “I just need one more win…”

It isn’t long before he loses himself in his game again, completely zoning out to everything around him in favour of racking up kill bonuses. “One. Two. Three. Fo— Wait. Okay, four.” He mumbles his kill count to himself as he goes, occasionally cracking a brief smile when he pulls off an impressive kill. He doesn’t even notice when Konoha stumbles into the room, too absorbed in his game to bother looking up.

"Kuro..?" Konoha questions, nervously standing in the doorway. "…I had a bad dream."

"Mm." He answers, still not fully registering that Konoha was there, not quite following what was being said. He finally managed to snap out of his daze a few moments later, hurriedly setting his controller down and trying not to visibly cringe when he’s almost immediately taken out (because there goes his kill streak). "…Sorry, Kono." he mumbles, finally looking over at his boyfriend (and he still wasn’t used to calling Konoha that.;"boyfriend" wasn’t a term he ever thought he’d apply to someone). "What happened?"

Konoha finally edges closer to him now, biting at his lip. “I… Don’t wanna talk about it.”

He blinks in response, frowning slightly. “…That’s fine.” He readjusts himself on the couch before patting the space beside himself, gesturing for Konoha to sit next to him. His boyfriend complies, taking the offered seat and leaning up against him as Kuroha wraps an arm around him and pulls him closer. “I don’t know what happened, but… It’s fine now. You’ve got me right here, after all. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

He can feel Konoha nod against him in response. “Kuro… Can we play a game? I don’t wanna go back to sleep.”

"…Yeah. We can play something." He reaches for his controller once more, exiting out of his current game. He’d been about to go to bed himself, but it looked like he’d be giving up on sleep for the night. He supposed that was fine if it was for Konoha. "Here. Let’s play Mario." He tosses a spare controller to Konoha before popping the game in, getting comfortable and preparing for a long night of losing at Mario Kart.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Kuro. Shintaro said you were really old." Konoha gives him a mildly confused look, frowning slightly while looking him over. "…Are you really, though? …You look my age…"

"That’s… Uh…" He’s not sure how to answer that question, fairly certain that Konoha wouldn’t fully understand the actual explanation behind it. "I’ve… Been around for a while, yeah."

"Oh. How old are you, then..?" A slight pause. "Are you 100?"

"…A lot older than that."

He’s not sure why, but Konoha’s eyes lit up at that response. “Oh! Then you’re really old, right?” He’s even more confused when Konoha starts looking expectantly at him. “Then..! I wanna hear about the dinosaurs! What were they like?”

“ _Konoha, **no** , I am not **that** old._ ”


	9. Chapter 9

"No."

"But Kuro—"

"I said  _no._ " Kuroha reiterates, glaring first at Konoha and then at the small child accompanying him. A child. Konoha had come home with a  _child._  Konoha did a lot of strange things, but  _this_ was crossing a line.”Kono, just put that thing back where you got it. We are  _not_ keeping it.” _  
_

"But Kuro, he’s all alone…" The small boy is hiding behind Konoha’s leg now, very cautiously peeking around it to stare at Kuroha. The child quickly hides back behind Konoha once more when Kuroha makes a face at him, trembling and whining slightly. "Kuro, don’t  _scare_ him.” Konoha turns slightly, patting the top of the child’s head with one hand. “It’s okay, Haruka… He’s not really that scary.”

"Don’t lie to the kid." Kuroha mutters, glaring again. "Don’t go naming him either, you’re getting attached."

"…I didn’t name him, he already—" Konoha lets out a frustrated sigh. "…We’re gonna keep him for a little while, okay? He doesn’t have anywhere else to go. …I can take care of him."

Kuroha  _hisses_ at that remark, obviously about to argue against the idea before Konoha shoots him a  _look._ "… _Fine._ " he finally relents, grumbling to himself. "He can stay here, but  _just_ for a couple days. We don’t need to be keeping a kid around.”

"And you’ll be nice to him?"

"I’ll—" Kuroha makes another unpleasant face before rolling his eyes. "I’ll be…  _nice_.” Even saying the word seems to disgust him.

"Good!" Konoha claps his hands together, looking down at the child once more. "Then… welcome home, Haruka!"


	10. Chapter 10

"I  _told_ you it was too cold to go outside." Kuroha mutters, dragging one nearly-frozen Konoha back inside the house. "I don't care  _how_ badly you wanted to go play in the snow; you would have froze to death if I hadn't gone out to check on you." He drags his shivering boyfriend over to the couch, grabbing the blanket hanging off the far end and draping it across Konoha's shoulders. "You're lucky I even bothered to check..." he grumbles, walking off towards the kitchen. "You know how much I hate the cold."

"S-S-S-Sorry K-Kuro..." Konoha mumbles, barely able to speak with how badly his teeth are chattering. He'd gone outside earlier dressed as usual, no coat, no gloves, no hat, nothing to keep him warm, and now he was paying the price. "I-I just w-w-wanted t-to--" Konoha can't quite finish his sentence, sneezing several times before letting out a tired groan and giving up on talking.

"Mmm. You should listen to me more often, you know." Kuroha comments, filling two mugs up with milk and popping them into the microwave. "I'm more than just a pretty face." There's a brief silence, only broken by the beeping of the microwave as the drinks finish heating up. He takes both mugs out, adding chocolate syrup to each (and a generous helping of marshmallows to one of them) before heading back to sit next to Konoha.

He hands the shivering boy the cup filled with marshmallows, pleased with himself when Konoha almost immediately perks up. "Th-Thanks Kuro..!" Konoha eagerly accepts the drink, taking a few too many sips and whining when he inevitably burns his tongue.

"...How many times do I have to tell you to take small sips?" He sighs, taking a drink out of his own mug before setting it down on the coffee table. "Drink slowly. Stay put for a while. Warm yourself back up before you even think about running off to do something else." He rolls his eyes. "...You're a nuisance sometimes, you know."

"S-Sorry..." Konoha mumbles, now slowly drinking his hot chocolate. Another silence falls over them, Konoha apparently lost in thought while Kuroha keeps a careful eye on him. It isn't too much longer before the colour starts to return to Konoha's cheeks, much to Kuroha's relief. Konoha finishes his drink moments later, setting the empty cup down before leaning against Kuroha. "...Thanks, Kuro."

"...For what?"

"Taking care of me."

He blinks in response to that, frowning slightly. "...Well,  _someone_ has to."

"...Hey, Kuro?"

" _What._ "

"I love you."

He can feel his face heat up at that statement, his mouth opening to answer even though he has no idea what to say in response. His mouth snaps shut again once he realises that Konoha has already fallen asleep against him, that the other isn't waiting for any sort of answer from him. He grumbles to himself in embarrassment for a few moments, staring at Konoha.

"...You shouldn't say stuff like that. 'Cause then I might..."


	11. Chapter 11

"I’m home." Kuroha announces, kicking the door shut behind himself as he stumbles inside. "I bought dinner while I was out." he adds, knowing that if anything would get Konoha’s attention, it would be food. "I’m not about to let you cook again." He pauses, confused when Konoha doesn’t respond at all (because Komoha _always_ greets him at the door, like some overexcited puppy). “…Konoha?”

He sets his things down near the door, kicking his shoes off before wandering out of the entranceway. He finds Konoha at his usual spot on the couch in their living room, though the scene before him was anything but usual. “ _What._ " He glares at the creature in Konoha’s lap. "Is _that_.”

"Kuro..!" Konoha grins, holding the animal (a _snake_ of all things) up for him to see. “Look, look! I found him outside earlier! I’ve been calling him Haru!”

"You… named him..?" He stares at Konoha in disbelief before glaring at the snake once more and hissing in displeasure. Haru hisses in response, and Kuroha immediately adopts an offended expression. "Get rid of it." He demands, attempting to snatch the animal out of Konoha’s hands. "No one talks to me like that."

"Huh..?" Konoha pulls Haru back, protecting the snake. "I thought you’d like having another snake around…"

He hisses again, still angrily eyeing Haru. “Other snakes, I don’t mind.” His gaze switches to Konoha, notably less angry. “I don’t want _you_ having another snake.”

"…Why not?"

"…I don’t know." He finally succeeds in grabbing Haru from Konoha, already starting to head out the door with it. "I just… don’t like it."

"…Okay." Konoha mumbles (and for some reason he’s much less upset than Kuroha had thought he would be). "We have to find Haru a home, though."

"Already on it." He mutters in response, motioning for Konoha to follow. "Come on. We haven’t paid Shintaro a visit in a while."


	12. Chapter 12

Konoha slowly trudges up the steps to his front door, even more slowly heading inside as the door swings closed behind him. He sets his bag down by the door, slipping his shoes off before wearily stumbling down the hallway to his room. He’s exhausted from his baseball practice after school, and he wants nothing more than to simply flop over on his bed and sleep for a few hours. “I’m home, Kuro.” he mumbles, greeting his pet snake the same as always.

"Welcome home."

"Thanks…" He pauses, realising a moment later that something wasn’t right here, that Kuro didn’t normally _respond_. “Wh— Kuro..?” He looks over at the snake’s tank, surprised to see that it’s been shattered into small pieces. The snake itself is nowhere to be found, though there _is_ a strangely attractive young man sitting on his bed. One that he doesn’t recognise and that, for some reason, doesn’t seem to be wearing anything. “Wh-who are..?”

The man blinks at him (and those aren’t a person’s eyes, those are the eyes of a _snake_ ), tilting his head to one side before responding. “…I’m Kuro.” He looks down at himself, making a face. “…I don’t know what happened. I don’t like it.”

"Uh, you..? H-Hang on…" Konoha darts off to one of his dressers, rummaging around before pulling out an oversized hoodie. It’s a struggle to get the clothing onto Kuro (because the snake doesn’t seem to know what to do with his extra limbs), but eventually Kuro is at least somewhat dressed. "U-Um… You’re a… Human now..?"

Kuro hisses in response, sticking his tongue out. “…I’m a snake. I’m just… In a weird body. I don’t like it. Fix it.” An expectant look is thrown Konoha’s way.

"I don’t really know how to fix it though…" Konoha mumbles. "Maybe you’ll just change back..?"

There’s an indignant hiss from the snake, his eyes narrowing. “Fix it _now_. There are too many… things.” He gestures at his arms and legs. “It’s confusing.”

"Then… I’ll teach you..!" Kuro blinks in response to that, though he doesn’t argue. "I can’t fix you, but I can help you adjust, maybe..?"

"…Okay." Kuro eventually mumbles, nodding once. "Then… I hope you’ll keep taking care of me for a while, Konoha."


	13. Chapter 13

Kuroha had actually managed the impossible earlier this morning, and he was feeling more regret right now than he’d ever felt before in his life. He’d managed to make Konoha,  _Konoha_ of all people, angry. Sweet, docile little Konoha was so angry that he was refusing to even  _speak_ to him, and the boy had opted to simply shut himself up in his room specifically so he wouldn’t have to deal with Kuroha. 

And Kuroha was absolutely freaking out about it.

”All I did was push Shintaro around.” he mutters to himself, pacing back and forth as he continued to rant to no one in particular. “I do that  _all the time._ Konoha tells me to stop every time, but he’s never gotten  _mad_ about it.” He groans to himself, one hand reaching up to grab at his hair. “This is Shintaro’s fault somehow, I know it is. I could  _kill_ him right now. …I’ll kill him later.”

A heavy sigh leaves him, his mind rapidly trying to think of ways to get Konoha to forgive him before he started thinking about misguided acts of revenge. “I already offered to take him out for dinner. He said no to my cooking, too.” A pause. “…I could get him a new dinosaur, maybe. Or…” A frustrated groan leaves him. “I don’t fucking know. I know how to piss people off, I’m not good at  _fixing_ it.”

He finds himself in front of the door to Konoha’s room before he really realises what he’s doing, grumbling to himself and kicking at the floor before knocking on the door. It takes longer than usual, but Konoha eventually pulls the door open, giving him a look that says he’d better start talking or leave. “Hey, uh… Kono, I…” He winces slightly, unable to get out the words he knows he needs to say (or perhaps “unwilling” would be the proper term).

"…What do you want?" He winces again, because he’s never heard Konoha sound so disinterested towards him. 

"I just… wanted to say that I…" He still can’t say it, can’t quite bring himself to swallow his pride.

"…Leave me alone." Konoha starts to shut the door once more, and he desperately reaches out to stop it from closing.

"W-Wait—! I-I’m  _sorry,_ okay?” The word is almost like poison to him, making him feel sick the instant it tumbles past his lips. 

Konoha blinks once, twice, three times, staring at him for several moments. “…Are you really?”

"…Yeah." he mutters, kicking at the floor again. "Don’t make me say it again."

"…And you promise you won’t do it again?" Konoha presses.

"I—" He makes a face, disgusted at the thought of having to be  _nice_ to someone else. “I’ll… make an effort not to.”

Konoha continues to stare at him for a few moments, until  _finally_ he offers one of his usual smiles. “…Okay. Then I’ll forgive you.” Kuroha blinks in surprise (because  _really?_ it was  _that_ easy?). “But! You have to promise not to be so mean to everyone else… Okay?”

He makes another face, appalled by the very thought. But if it kept Konoha happy with him… “I’ll… try.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt for this was: "Kuroha and konoha taking a job somewhere crappy because they broke the oven and the trombone when Haruka wasn't home."

Kuroha’s eyes narrow the instant he realises who his next customers are, the permanent frown on his face somehow managing to become even more intimidating than usual. “ _You._ " he growls, looking like he’s a second away from jumping the counter. "Give me _one reason_ why I shouldn’t just—”

"Ah, ah, Kuro." Haruka shakes his head, Shintaro quietly snickering beside him. "That’s not very professional, is it? You’ll lose your new job at this rate."

Kuroha grinds his teeth together, his face slowly turning an angry shade of red. “…Welcome to Burger King; my name is Kuroha, can I take your order?”

"Man, you even manage to make the greeting sound like a death threat." Shintaro comments, laughing again.

"Just _order_ before I—”

"Four cheeseburgers." Haruka cuts in. "One plain. Three with everything and extra mayo. And… Three large fries. Two large drinks. And… That’s it!"

Kuroha continues glaring at the two of them as he rings up the order, somehow managing to remain relatively civil. Konoha is the one who brings up the finished order, excitedly waving. “Hi Shin! Hi Haruka!”

"At least someone’s enjoying themselves." Shintaro comments, picking up the tray of food before heading off to fill up their drinks.

"You like working then, Kono?" Haruka asks, lingering to talk to the other two.

"Kinda." Konoha frowns. "…I’m not very good at it. And I’m not allowed to eat the food…" A glance at Kuroha. "But..! Kuro’s here, so it’s okay."

"I still say it’s bullshit we had to get a job at all." Kuroha mutters.

"Maybe next time you’ll think twice about breaking the _oven_ of all things while I’m out next time, then.” Haruka responds, waving once before heading off to join Shintaro, leaving an irate Kuroha and vacant Konoha behind him.


	15. Chapter 15

"Kuro, I wanna go home…" Konoha mumbles, standing far too closely to the other. "I don’t like this…"

"You’re the one who wanted to come here in the first place." Kuroha mutters, giving Konoha a disapproving look. "We haven’t even been in here for two minutes and you’re already wanting to leave."

"I d-didn’t think it would b-be this scary…" Konoha stammers, desperately clutching at Kuroha’s hand. Kuroha only rolls his eyes, tugging on Konoha’s hand and forcing him to come along as he progressed though the haunted house (the haunted house that Konoha had _insisted_ on going to).

He’s only taken a few steps before a prop jumps out of the wall at them, and while Kuroha is hardly fazed, Konoha lets out a high-pitched shriek. Before Kuroha even really realises what’s happening, he finds himself holding a trembling Konoha bridal-style, the terrified boy looping both arms around his neck so tightly that it’s causing him pain. “…Konoha, you really need to let go…” he grumbles, attempting (and failing) to escape Konoha’s death-grip.

"N-n-n-no, I w-wanna g-go _home_ , Kuro..!” Konoha’s grip only keeps tightening, much to Kuroha’s displeasure.

"Okay, okay, I _get_ it.” Kuroha growls, rolling his eyes again and opting to just _carry_ Konoha through this place. “Just keep your eyes closed and try not to move too much. …You _owe_ me for this.”

It doesn’t take him long to get through the place now that Konoha isn’t stopping him every few seconds, and he can see the dim light of what he’s sure is the exit up ahead. “…We’re almost there, Kono.” he mumbles. “I can see the—?!” One last prop jumps out at him, this one actually managing to catch him off guard. He stumbles past it, nearly dropping Konoha in his haste to get out the exit.

"…Kuro..?" Konoha finally opens his eyes now that they’re back in the daylight, looking up at Kuroha. "Are you okay..?"

"I’m _fine_.”

"Your heart is beating really fast…"

“ _I’m fine._ " he repeats, unceremoniously dropping Konoha. "But if you want to keep mentioning it, I can make you go back through there alone." Konoha quickly shakes his head, picking himself back up and frowning. "…Then _drop it_.” A sigh. “…That’s enough excitement for one day. Let’s go home before you decide to do something else we’ll both regret.”


	16. Chapter 16

Konoha’s passed out on the couch again, taking up the  _entire_ sofa with the way his limbs were spread out. Kuroha had been planning on playing a few matches of his newest video game, but it looked like that wouldn’t be happening now that Konoha had decided it was nap time. A weary sigh leaves him as he stares down at his roommate, as he looks over Konoha’s sleeping form just a little too closely.

He doesn’t mean for the thoughts to happen, not really; but once they’re in his head, he can’t seem to get them out. He can’t help but note how beautiful Konoha is, how serene he always looks (even more so when he’s sleeping like this). His gaze drifts to those pale, chapped lips that he spends too much time thinking about, and he wonders what they’d feel like against his own, what they’d feel like—

He finally succeeds in snapping himself out of his daze, realising with a certain horrified dread that in the midst of his daydreaming he’d actually managed to give himself an erection. He takes a step away from Konoha, mildly disgusted with himself. It doesn’t take him long to bolt after that, shutting himself up in his room before heavily sitting down on his bed. He takes a deep breath, debating with himself for the briefest of moments before finally reaching a hand into his pants.

He exhales slowly, shakily, as his hand touches his own erection. A slight groan leaves parted lips as he grips himself, jerking his hand and teasing himself before setting a steady rhythm. It doesn’t take him long at all to get into it, to push his self-disgust aside and let his mind run wild.

It’s Konoha he thinks about. It’s Konoha’s long, slender fingers that he wants to be touching him like this (fingers that he’s sure are clumsy and inexperienced, but that only makes him want it more). It’s Konoha’s lips that he wants to feel against his own (and more than just that, he wants those lips to be all over him). It’s Konoha’s pale, pretty skin that he wants to be touching (and he wants to touch  _everywhere,_ doesn’t want to leave a single patch of skin on Konoha’s body unexplored).

He doesn’t hear the knock on his door, not when he’s so lost in his own fantasies, not when he’s so far lost to pleasure. He doesn’t even notice the door swing open (because if he had he wouldn’t still be mumbling Konoha’s name over and over again). It’s too late by the time he  _does_ notice, his climax already underway, Konoha’s name already leaving his lips one last time as he finally notices the object of his desire standing in his doorway.

"…Kuroha..?" Konoha gives him an inquisitive look (and he’s not sure if he’s relieved or not that Konoha doesn’t look thoroughly disgusted with him). "…What are you doing?"

He blinks several times, breathing heavily as he tries to regain enough of his senses to respond. It takes him longer than it should to realise that Konoha honestly doesn’t know what he just walked in on (and how is it possible for him to be  _this_ innocent?), and he honestly isn’t sure how to answer. “I… Uh… I was…” A thought crosses his mind, and he realises that he could easily take advantage of this situation, that he could make his fantasies a reality right now, because Konoha is just  _so_ easy to take advantage of.

He can’t bring himself to do it, though, shoving the thought from his mind. “This… Is gonna be a long talk, I think.” he mumbles, sighing as he tries to piece together just how to explain all of this to someone as clueless as Konoha.


	17. Chapter 17

"Kuro! Kuro! Kuro!" He groans in protest as one overexcited Konoha rouses him from his slumber. It takes a significant amount of effort for him to open his eyes, his gaze immediately settling on the clock sitting on the nightstand. The clock that read 7:00AM.

"…Konoha." he grumbles, his voice rough, tired. "You’d better have a _damn_ good reason for waking me up this early.” Another irritated groan as Konoha tugs on his arm, pulling him into a sitting position. He slowly starts to rub the sleep out of his eyes, realising that he probably wouldn’t be allowed the luxury of going back to sleep.

"Get up, Kuro..!" Konoha continues to pull him, eventually succeeding in forcing him out of bed. He stumbles a few steps, Konoha hurrying to steady him. "C’mon, c’mon! I already got breakfast ready!"

"…Breakfast?" he repeats, confused. Konoha _never_ made him breakfast, mostly because he was never _awake_ for breakfast. “…Konoha, what are..?” His voice trails off when Konoha presses a quick kiss against his cheek, a faint blush spreading across his face moments later. He falls silent after that, simply allowing Konoha to lead him.

Konoha definitely hadn’t been lying about breakfast, a somewhat impressive spread set out before him. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, oatmeal (the kind with dinosaur eggs that hatched, of course), plenty of fruit… “…You made all this?” he asks, staring at Konoha.

"Yeah..!" Konoha grins, pushing Kuroha towards his seat at the table. "I was up all night trying to get everything right… Cooking is really hard."

He finally sits down, blinking when he realises there’s a card placed next to his portion of food, decorated with cutesy hearts and dinosaurs that were obviously drawn by Konoha. He opens it, another faint blush appearing as he reads the contents (written in Konoha’s child-like scrawl).

_"Roses are red_   
_Violets aren’t actually blue?_   
_I’m not very good at poems…_   
_But I really love you!"_

"What’s… All of this for, Kono..?" he asks, trying (and failing) to hide his blush as he glances at the other.

"It’s our anniversary!!" Konoha answers, grinning. "We’ve been dating for a month now..! You’re supposed to celebrate, right?"

"I… Yeah, I…" He trails off, suddenly feeling guilty. "I… completely forgot…" he admits, averting his eyes.

"It’s okay." Konoha tells him, giving him a proper kiss this time. "I remembered for us. Now c’mon! I wanna eat."

He nods slowly, taking a few bites of the prepared food (and it’s surprisingly tasty considering Konoha made it). He can’t quite get rid of that guilty feeling for forgetting, especially when Konoha went through this much trouble. He supposed he’d just have to outdo this for their next anniversary.


	18. Chapter 18

He realises something is wrong the instant Konoha walks through the door (because it’s too early for him to be home, he had baseball practice today, didn’t he?), sitting up when the other slowly trudges into the room without a trace of his usual energy. “Konoha..? What are you doing home so—” He freezes when he finally gets a look at his boyfriend, when he finally notices the  _injuries_ . He bolts out of his seat, homework completely forgotten in favour of looking over Konoha. “…What happened?”

"…I tripped and fell." Konoha mumbles, averting his eyes. "It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt."

"Don’t lie to me." Kuroha growls, reaching up to brush his thumb against the bruises forming underneath Konoha’s eye. He frowns when Konoha winces in response, eyes narrowing. "You’re not _fine_. You didn’t _trip _.” He pulls Konoha towards the couch, forcing him to sit. “Stay put.”__

He dashes off, returning moments lasted with a first-aid kit in hand. Konoha shakes his head, attempting to refuse the help. “…I’m fine, Kuro, you don’t need to—”

"Don’t argue." He ends up sitting on Konoha’s lap to prevent the boy from moving, legs placed on either side of the other boy. There’s a further whine of protest from Konoha as he cleans off the wounds; a bruise under one eye, a jagged cut on his cheek, several scrapes spread across his face. "…Who did this to you?" he eventually asks, giving Konoha a look that says he’d _better_ start talking.

"…Some kids at school…"

"Why?"

"…I don’t know."

“ _Don’t_ lie to me.” Another whine from Konoha, and an outright refusal to meet Kuroha’s gaze. He sighs, making an effort not to sound as angry as he is. “…You can talk to me, Kono.” He presses a very brief, very careful kiss against his boyfriend’s lips, one hand reaching up to gently run through Konoha’s hair. “That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”

He eventually receives a nod from Konoha, the boy finally deciding to speak. “…People are mad at me.”

"…For what?"

"…Dating you." Konoha averts his eyes once more. "…They said I’m not good enough for you."

He knows exactly who Konoha is talking about now, knows exactly who he needs to punish for this. He pushes that thought aside for a moment, because Konoha is what comes first. “…That’s not true.” He kisses Konoha again, letting his lips linger this time. “You’re perfect.” Another kiss. “It doesn’t matter what they say to you. You’re perfect.” One more kiss.

Konoha only nods in response, tears spilling from his eyes as he kisses Kuroha back. “…Don’t worry, Kono.” Kuroha’s eyes narrow once more. “No one’s going to hurt you like that again. I’ll make sure of it.”


	19. Chapter 19

"…Konoha,  _move._ " He’s not sure what’s come over his boyfriend all of a sudden,  _why_ Konoha is staring at him so intensely. A better question might be why he was doing this when Kuroha was in the middle of playing one of his games. He wasn’t exactly pleased that Konoha was completely blocking his view of the TV.

"…No." Konoha shakes his head, frowning. "I’m not moving." The boy’s cheeks are puffed out slightly, his arms crossed. It’s pretty clear that  _something_ is seriously bothering him, and Kuroha isn’t sure if he wants to find out what that is or not.

He sighs, finally relenting and setting his controller down on the couch beside him. “…Fine, you have my attention. What do you want?” He crosses his own arms now, giving Konoha an irritated look.

There’s a long silence between them, Konoha simply staring at him with an expression that he can’t quite read (and that scares him, because Konoha is usually so  _easy_ to read). It isn’t until he thinks he isn’t going to get an answer that Konoha finally responds. “Kuro… Do you like me?” Konoha’s voice sounds small,  _scared,_ almost, like he’s afraid of what the answer might be.

He blinks several times in response, not quite sure how to answer that at first. “I— …What kind of question is that, Konoha?” A confused look. “You’re my  _boyfriend._ ”

"…But you don’t like me, do you?" Konoha sounds genuinely hurt now, and Kuroha is desperately trying to think of what might have caused this sudden interrogation.

"I— Why would you think that?"

There’s another long silence (this one much worse than the first one). “You…” Konoha finally speaks up, pauses, looks down at the floor before continuing. “Yesterday you were talking to Shintaro about your new game.” A nod at the game console. “You said you really loved it. You talked about it for a long time.” He’s still not sure what Konoha is getting at, how this could possibly tie into the current situation. “…You never say stuff like that, though. Or… you’ve never said that about me.”

"…What are you talking about?"

Konoha finally looks back up at him. “…You’ve never said you loved me before.” Konoha’s voice finally breaks, and he looks away again in a too-late attempt to hide his tears. “You’ve never even said you  _liked_ me.”

"I—" He runs through his memories several times, trying to recall at least one instance in which he’d said something like that to Konoha, because surely there’d been at least  _one_ time, right? Try as he might though, he couldn’t recall  _ever_ having said anything of the sort, even though Konoha made sure to tell  _him_ those words  _daily._

He finally stands up, reaching for Konoha and pulling the other towards him in an embrace. It takes a moment, but Konoha reluctantly returns the gesture. “I…” He struggles with the words (and just  _how_ does Konoha manage to say them so easily?). “…I… I like you, Kono.”

"…Do you really?"

"Y-Yeah. I, uh…" He takes a deep breath, struggling with his words once more. "…I love you, Kono."

"…Really?" Konoha pulls back slightly to look at him now, face still wet with tears.

"…Yes, really." He averts his eyes now, his face slowly heating up. "…Don’t make me say it again."

"…Thank you." Konoha finally smiles again, and he can feel his heart skip a beat just like it always does when he sees that look on his boyfriend’s face. "I love you too, Kuro."


	20. Chapter 20

A flash of movement in the darkness, followed by the sound of something wet, something  _alive._ He fumbles for his flashlight, quickly flipping it on to reveal what creature was stalking him. He proves to be too late, though. The last thing he sees are a blur of movement, the last thing he hears is a tortured cry, and then a flash of red that soon cuts to black.

The words “GAME OVER” flash on Kuroha’s television, and he throws his controller down in protest. “This is such  _bullshit!_ " He stands up, walking away from the game. "Two hours. I’ve been on this level for  _two hours_ and I  _still_ can’t beat it!” He eventually storms out of the room, not quite sure where he’s going yet, just knowing that he needed to not be  _here._ "Oy! Konoha!" He waits for a reply, his irritation growing when he doesn’t receive one. "Kono! Let’s go out for a while, I’ll buy you lunch."

He still doesn’t receive any sort of answer, which is  _completely_ unheard of since he’d just offered the other boy food. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Konoha at all today, had he? “…Where the hell are you, Kono?” He rolls his eyes, briefly searching through the areas of the house that Konoha frequented. The boy wasn’t in their bedroom, he wasn’t in the bathroom, he definitely hadn’t been with him in the living room. It wasn’t until he got to the kitchen that he finally noticed something.

"…Geez, how many times do I have to tell him not to leave his food laying around like this." He reaches for an open bag of potato chips sitting on the counter, pulling his hand back when something inside the bag  _moves._ "What..?" He carefully peers inside, his gaze met by two tiny, red eyes. "That’s…" He reaches on hand inside the bag, gingerly pulling out a small, white snake.

His mind runs through various ways to explain  _why_ there’s a strange snake in their house that looks suspiciously like Konoha, while Konoha himself has gone missing. “…Kono..?” he asks the snake, and the creature flicks its tongue out in response. He understood that to be a ‘yes’, eyes widening in response “…How did..? What..?” He shakes his head. “…I guess if I can turn into a human it’s not unreasonable for you to… But  _why?_ ”

The snake ( _Konoha_ ) slowly starts to slither back to the bag of chips, and he’s forced to grab it once more. “Okay, first of all. Snakes can’t eat junk food.” If a snake could look distraught, Konoha was managing pretty well. “We’re gonna have to change your diet around. …You won’t like it.” A hiss of protest. “Don’t argue with me.  _I’m_ the snake expert here.”

He sighs, running his free hand through his hair. “I’ll… work on finding some way to change you back, okay? If it’s the same way I work I’d just… need to teach you, I guess.” Konoha looks hopeful at that remark. “But until then, you’re gonna have to let me take care of you, okay? …Because it’s pretty obvious you can’t do it yourself.” A small nod of agreement. “…Good.” Another sigh. “You’ve got a  _lot_ to learn about being a snake.”


	21. Chapter 21

"Hey, Konoha." Konoha looks up from his seat, mildly confused to see Kano standing next to his desk. "Mind if I sit next to you today?" The boy points at the open seat next to him, and he slowly nods in response. "Awesome, thanks!" Kano slings his bag against the back of his chair, dramatically flopping into his seat before taking out his things for class. "Y’know, Konoha… We don’t talk as much as we should."

Konoha blinks slowly, giving another slight nod. “…We don’t really talk at all.” he mumbles, looking back down at his desk. He didn’t really talk to  _anyone_ though, not unless you counted Shintaro and Haruka.

”Let’s change that, then!” Kano grins, even though Konoha doesn’t exactly look comfortable with that thought. “Here, let me see your phone. I’ll give you my number.” He hesitates for a long moment, but eventually hands his phone over, eyeing Kano carefully as the other boy goes into his contacts. The teacher walks into the classroom not a second later, drawing his attention away for a moment.

"Kano… We’ll get in trouble if our phones are out…" he mumbles, worriedly looking from the teacher to Kano. It didn’t take  _this_ long just to put in contact information, did it?

"I know, I know." Kano mutters in response, typing something on the keypad before finally handing the phone back. "Here. Sorry, I forgot my own number for a minute there." He eyes his classmate warily for a moment, not sure if he believes that statement or not. He’s forced to drop any inquiries he might have though, their teacher drawing their attention as the day’s lesson finally begins. It isn’t long before he completely forgets about the incident.

The rest of his day is uneventful, full of the usual lessons and ending with his usual practice. He’s tired by the time he finally gets home, eating his usual excessively large dinnertime meal before retiring to his room and flopping over on his bed. It isn’t long before he pulls his phone out, flipping through his contacts before stopping on Shintaro’s name.

_"hey shintaro  
_ _how do you tell someone you like them ?”_

He presses “send”, setting his phone down beside him and staring up at the ceiling. He’d been talking to Shintaro for a while now about things like this. About how he was pretty sure he preferred guys over girls, about how he was also pretty sure he had a huge crush on someone (though he hadn’t managed to work up the courage to tell even Shintaro who it was yet). And Shintaro always listened, never judged him for it, always offered him advice.

He jumps when his phone goes off, reaching for it and pulling up Shintaro’s response.

_"It depends on who it is.  
_ _…Who is it that you like?”_

He types out the name, but can’t bring himself to press “send” yet, simply staring at his screen and debating with himself. He eventually closes his eyes and presses the button, because it’s  _Shintaro,_ and if there’s anyone he can trust with this information, it’s him.

_"kuroha"_

The response is almost instant.

_"Why him?"_

He thinks it an odd question, but responds regardless.

_"i dont know. hes not very nice i guess. he helps me sometimes though. if people are picking on me in the hallway he shoves them out of the way. he helped me pick up my notes when i dropped them before. little things i guess._  
 _hes really pretty to. i feel weird around him. like my heart kinda hurts. i think about him alot.  
_ _i really like him.”_

He sets his phone down again after sending the message, his mind a nervous mess as he waits for a reply. It takes what feels like  _hours_ before his phone finally buzzes again, and the reply does little to comfort him.

_"Have you tried just telling him that you like him?"_

He shakes his head, even though he knows Shintaro can’t see him.

_"i cant do that! ive never even really talked to him before."_

There’s another long pause before the reply.

_"You’re talking to him right now.  
_ _Sorry, I know you thought you were talking to Shintaro. I should have just told you that you texted the wrong person, but… The text caught my attention, and I wanted to see where it would go if I played along.”_

He starts to panic, frantically heading back to his contact page and pulling up Shintaro’s name again. He tabs into the information this time and, sure enough, realises that the numbers on his contacts actually  _were_ switched. Kano. This was Kano’s fault. Everything had been fine until he’d let Kano borrow his phone.

He receives another text alert, and he’s almost too terrified to look at the contents. He takes a deep breath, tabbing back into his messages.

_"Just so you know, though… I like you, too._  
 _Like you said already, I’m not very nice. I’m not so great with socialising, either. You seem to like me regardless though, so…  
_ _If you want this to go somewhere, it can.”_

His heart skips a beat as he reads and rereads the message, wondering if this is really happening or not. He shakily types out his response.

_"i do.  
_ _can i see you ?”_

The reply is instant.

_"Yeah. I’ll be at your place as soon as I can. ♥"_


	22. Chapter 22

"I-I-I can’t do it, Shin…" he whines, clutching at his head as his nerves get the best of him. "I ch-changed my mind, I’m not brave enough to—" He jumps when Shintaro places a hand on his shoulder, his entire body shaking.

"…Calm down, Konoha." Shintaro tells him, frowning. "You’ll be fine. I mean he already agreed to meet with you after practice, right? That’s already a good sign."

"Y-yeah, but… It’s so _soon_ now…”

"Hey. Hey. Relax, buddy." Shintaro grabs both of his shoulders now, staring at him. "Look. You’re the nicest guy I know. You definitely aren’t unattractive. You’ll be okay. Everything will be just fine, okay?"

"O-okay…" he mumbles, nodding once. "I can… Do this…"

"It’ll be easy." Shintaro continues, letting go of him now. "Just tell him how you feel, you don’t have to be elaborate or anything." The boy glances at his watch. "…He’ll be done with practice in a minute or two, so I'll get out of your way now." Shintaro gives him a pat on the back, followed by a wave as he heads off. "You’ve got this. Text me when you’re done, we can go get some celebratory pizza or something."

"W-wait..!" It’s too late though, Shintaro has already dashed off, leaving him all alone. "I… I can do this… It’ll be fine. I j-just have to…"

"Oy." A voice cuts through his thoughts, a voice that he recognises instantly because he spends _so_ much time daydreaming about its owner. He can feel his heart shoot up into his throat as Kuroha walks up to him, and he desperately tries to hide just how nervous he is. “…You wanted to talk to me… Right?”

"Y-yeah..! I did…" He inwardly cringes, silently cursing himself for how timid he’s sure he sounds.

"…What’s this about, then?" Kuroha asks him, raising one eyebrow in question.

"Um… I uh… I just…" He’s a complete nervous wreck, fumbling over his words several times and hating himself just a little more each time. He eventually takes a deep breath, looking at Kuroha (but not _quite_ able to make eye contact). “…I really like you..! And I was wondering if… maybe you wanted to go out with me sometime..? U-um…”

There’s a snort from Kuroha, and his neutral expression turns into a frown. “…Is that all you wanted to say?”

He visibly cringes this time. “Y-yes…”

"…Hm. Thanks for wasting my time then, I guess." He cringes again when Kuroha cruelly laughs at him. "…Though I’ll admit I’m a little amused that you thought you might actually have had a chance with me. Keep dreaming, kid."

He doesn’t say anything as Kuroha walks away, _can’t_ say anything. It’s all he can do to just keep himself standing there, staring at the ground that steadily becomes blurrier as his tears start to fall.


	23. Chapter 23

It was the same as any other night, the two of them sitting beside each other on the couch as some TV show played, neither of them paying the program much attention. Konoha's attention was failing him altogether, the boy leaning up against the other and struggling to keep his eyes open, while Kuroha's attention was simply on Konoha. "...We can go to bed if you're tired, Konoha." he offers, already picking up the remote.

"...It's early, though." Konoha mentions, his voice a tired mumble. "...You always want to stay up late."

"It's fine." He turns the television off, dropping the remote before carefully getting up. "Come on." He holds one hand out to Konoha, helping the other up. Konoha opts not to let go of his hand, entwining their fingers together as they both head off to their bedroom. He kicks the door to their room shut once they're both inside, turning on the bedside lamp for light as Konoha finally lets go of his hand and immediately moves to flop over on the bed. "...Don't sleep in that, Kono." he mutters, already pulling off his own shirt. "Get changed first."

He receives a whine of protest in response, Konoha slowly dragging himself back onto his feet and even more slowly starting to undress. "It shouldn't matter what I sleep in..." the boy grumbles, now pulling his shirt off over his head. Kuroha pauses, dropping his own shirt on the floor as he watches Konoha a little too closely, as his thoughts start to get away from him.

"Hey... Konoha..." He reaches for the other, pulling Konoha towards him.

"...Kuro, what are you..?" He doesn't give Konoha the chance to finish that question, pressing their lips together as his arms pull the other closer until bare skin is pressed up against bare skin. It takes Konoha a moment to respond, to finally kiss back, and when he finally does Kuroha can't help but wonder how the other  _always_ manages to taste like negima. 

He pulls away to kiss at Konoha's neck, sucking at the flesh and leaving an obvious mark that told the world this one was  _his._ "Kuro..? Don't..." Konoha sounds hesitant now, and he  _knows_ the other is going to try to stop him soon, just like he always does. It was always an ' _I'm not ready_ ' or a ' _Not tonight_ ', or some other excuse, and he was  _so_ tired of waiting.

"...Don't talk." he orders, claiming Konoha's lips once more. There's a weak protest that is soon swallowed up, and he pushes past the vague sense of guilt that suddenly sprouts within him. His hands reach out to touch Konoha's bare skin, steadily roaming lower and lower until he's right at the waistline of the other's pants, until he's just about to reach what he's after.

Konoha finally pulls away from him though, shaking his head and taking a few steps back. "St-Stop it, Kuro..!" And there it was again, the denial that happened  _every_ time. He was  _sick_ of this.

"How long have we been together, Kono?" he asks, trying not to show just how irritated he was right now. "It's been  _months._ We  _live_ together. We  _sleep_ together. But you won't let me _do_ anything with you. You won't even let me  _touch_ you."

"I-I don't..."

"Do you not like me? Is that what this is?"

"I-I like you--!" Konoha's voice loses its hesitation now, taking on a tinge of desperation now instead. "I like you a lot, I promise I do! I just... I don't like... that..."

"You don't..?" He blinks in confusion, trying to understand what exactly Konoha is saying. "You don't like... what? Me touching you?" He receives a nod in response, and that only confuses him further. "...I don't understand."

"I um..." Konoha averts his eyes, almost as if he's ashamed. "I don't... I don't like sex..."

"But you've never  _had_ sex."

"I-I know, but I don't..." Konoha bites at his lip now, and it takes him a while to speak again. "...I don't want to have sex."

"...You don't..?" Any anger he'd felt earlier simply changes into confusion now as he tries to make sense of this. "...Do you just not want to with  _me,_ or..?" _  
_

"N-no... Not with anyone. I just... I don't want to. I don't like thinking about it..."

"I..." He eventually sighs, shaking his head. "...I don't really get it, but okay." He sits down on the bed now, running one hand through his hair as he stares at the floor.

"I'm sorry. ...Are you mad at me?" Konoha asks, sounding scared now.

"...No." He shrugs. "If you don't want to, you don't want to. I guess I can't really change that." He glances up at Konoha now, sighing once more when he notices how visibly upset the other boy is. "...It's okay, Kono." He pulls Konoha towards himself again, this time pulling him into an embrace that Konoha eagerly returns. "I promise I"m not mad. I don't really get it, but... We can talk about it in the morning. Let's just get some sleep for now before I start saying something sappy."

"...Okay. Thanks, Kuro."


	24. Chapter 24

He can’t even say he’s surprised this time when he looks up to find that he’s standing outside the Pokemon Daycare. He hadn’t exactly meant to come here, but it seemed he couldn’t really help himself. Ever since he’d first left his Ekans here to be looked after (because storing his prized snakes in a PC just wasn’t an option), he’d found himself returning here more and more often. At first he’d told himself it was simply because he wasn’t good at taking care of his Pokemon, and he wasn’t, not really. But he also knew that wasn’t the real reason. He knew _exactly_ what the reason was, even if he’d never admit it.

He sighs, pushing the door open. The tinkling of a bell announces his arrival, and it isn’t long before a familiar white-haired boy peeks out from the back room. “I’ll be there in just a… Oh..! Kuroha! Hang on!”

"…Take your time." he mumbles, his cheeks already starting to grow warm as Konoha’s face lights up in a smile. It takes a few minutes, but Konoha eventually wanders out to the front room, dusting himself off before waving at him.

”Hey, Kuroha! Are you here to check up on your Arbok?” A grin. “He’s doing really well..! He learned a new move the other morning…” He can’t help but stare at Konoha while he talks, because the boy always gets so excited, so  _passionate_ when he talks about Pokemon. He finds it endearing, in a way. “…Hey, Kuroha? You still there..?”

He blinks, realising with a start that he’d been spacing out thinking about the person who was standing right in front of him. His face feels hot now, and he sincerely hopes that Konoha doesn’t notice the blush that he’s sure is there. “I uh… Yeah, sorry.” He pulls out his badge case, opening it up and showing the contents to Konoha. “…I got my seventh badge yesterday. I just need one more before I’m ready to take on the Elite Four.”

Konoha’s eyes grow wide as he looks the new badge over. “Whoa… That’s incredible…”

"I need to train for my next gym… And unfortunately my Seviper is at a disadvantage for that gym, but I’ll need him to be ready for the E4, so… Think you could look after him for me for a while?"

Konoha blinks in response to that, surprised. “Huh..? He’s your favourite though, isn’t he? Are you sure you wanna leave him with me..?”

"…Yeah. I know you’ll take care of him." He hands his Seviper’s pokeball over, a funny feeling running through him when Konoha’s hand brushes up against his own during the exchange.

"I’ll do my best! I promise!" Konoha swears, gingerly holding the pokeball.

"…I know." He offers a wave of farewell to Konoha before turning back towards the door and stepping back outside.

"Good luck with your gym challenge! I’ll be cheering for you!" Konoha calls just as he leaves.

He waits for the door to close before muttering a quiet “…You’ll be cheering for me, huh? Well now I  _have_ to win.”


	25. Chapter 25

His fingers twitch in anticipation as he corners his prey, curling and uncurling themselves as he yearns to reach out, only barely managing to restrain himself. “Are you mine, I wonder..?” he muses, steadily advancing as his victim cowers against the back wall of the alley they’ve been trapped in. “I’ve been searching for my match for so long, you know…” A feral grin spreads across his visage.

This is his favourite part. The look of abject _terror_ on the trapped Omega’s face as they frantically search for an escape route. The rush of _power_ he feels knowing that he holds another’s very life in his hands, knowing that he can _crush_ that life. That vague sense of hope he feels that maybe, just _maybe_ this one will be _his_.

One hand finally closes around the Omega’s neck, and he feels… nothing. An angry snarl leaves him, grip tightening until his victim can no longer breathe. “…Of course not. A sniveling coward like you would never be worth my time.” He slams the Omega’s head back against the brick wall, his free hand plunging into their stomach, ripping into soft innards.

"…No hard feelings." he mutters, pulling out his hand and licking the blood off. "But I can’t have you making some _other_ Alpha stronger.” Another wicked grin as his victim expires, and he lets the body drop to the ground. “…You should thank me, really. The weak exist only to serve the strong. And I _am_ the strong.” A laugh. “…Your existence is utterly worthless if you aren’t capable of serving me.”

He leaves the body where it is, kicking it once before walking back out of the alley and onto the dimly-lit street. His third victim of the night, fifteenth of the week; he was starting to lose his patience. An Omega existed for every Alpha, and while he’d found several that were compatible, none so far had been _enough_ for him.

His eyes light up as he realises there’s another person approaching him, fingers already twitching in anticipation of what he’s sure will be his next kill. His excitement rises when he realises it’s another Omega, only to fall once more when he gets a good look at them. It’s a scrawny, meek-looking boy with stark-white hair, and nearly everything about him said _weak_. He growls in frustration, darting forward as soon as the other is close enough and grabbing for the Omega’s throat.

"You’re…" He pauses, eyes growing wide as a jolt runs through him. It’s a sensation he’s never felt before, but he knows _immediately_ what it means. “…Your name.” he demands, letting go of the other. “What’s your name?”

"K-K-Kono…ha…" the boy responds, voice trembling.

"…Konoha." he repeats, mumbling the name several times and deciding he likes the feel of it. "…Well then, Konoha. My name is Kuroha." A grin, one that makes Konoha flinch back in fear. "Tell me, did you feel anything just now?" A slight nod from Konoha, and his grin widens. "Then you already know what that means. You’re _mine_.”


	26. Chapter 26

Konoha slowly sits up in bed, sleepily glancing at the clock that reads 3:41AM. He blinks slowly, wondering to himself why it is he's awake this early, because he  _always_ sleeps right through the night. He eventually shrugs to himself, moving to lay back down when he hears it. There's a series of loud  _thumps_ coming from his living room, and his eyes slowly widen as he remembers that he's the only one that lives here.

"Uh..." The noises don't stop, and it's obvious that someone else is moving through his house now. He whines to himself, slowly, carefully getting out of bed, and even more slowly inching towards his bedroom door. The noises stop as soon as he reaches the door, though that doesn't do a thing to settle his nerves. He ever-so-slowly inches the door open, peeking through the crack and immediately stumbling several steps back as he realises that the intruder is  _right in front of his door._

He trips over himself in his haste to retreat, falling backwards and heavily landing on the floor. "D-D-Don't hurt me..!" he pleads, raising both arms up above his head as if to shield himself.

His unwanted visitor staggers a few steps into the room, almost looking like he's about to fall over. "...What're you doin' on th' floor..?" Konoha slowly lowers his arms, because he actually  _recognises_ that voice.

"...Kuroha..?" he questions, looking up now to see that it was indeed Kuroha standing over him. He slowly picks himself up, dusting himself off before properly regarding his guest. "Uh... Kuroha, what are you doing here..?"

"...'M 'ere t' see you."

"...Kuroha, it's almost 4 in the morning. You just... broke into my house."

"...I don' see what y'r gettin' at." Konoha slowly starts to pieces things together. The odd time of night, the way Kuroha's speech wasn't quite right, the stench of what he's  _sure_ was alcohol hanging off the other. 

"...You're drunk."

"No 'm not."

"Yes, you are." He sighs, shaking his head. He didn't know why Kuroha had chosen to show up  _here_ of all places when he was drunk, but he knew he didn't want to deal with it right now. He just wanted to go back to sleep. "...Go home, Kuroha. It's late."

"...Don' wanna go home." Kuroha argues, making a face. "'S lonely at home. Tha's why I wan'd t' come see you."

"...Huh?" He frowns in response to that statement. "...You don't even like me, Kuro. You're never nice to me, so why would you come here..?"

Kuroha makes another face. "...'S not true. I like you lots. ...Not good at bein' nice though..." Kuroha stumbles another step forward, a little too unsteady on his feet this time around, and Konoha rushes to catch him before he hits the floor. "Sorry... I jus'... Really wan'd t'..." Kuroha goes limp in his arms a moment later, apparently having fallen asleep where he was. 

Konoha sighs to himself, dragging one unconscious Kuroha into his own bed and leaving him there while he trudges off to the couch in the other room. He's not sure how seriously he should take anything Kuroha just said to him, but he can't help but wonder. He decides they'll just have to have a long talk about all this in the morning.


	27. Chapter 27

He sleeps a lot more than usual lately, and he can't ever really bring himself to get out of bed these days. His bed is warm, comfortable; he never wants to leave it. It's not like he ever has anywhere to be, so what does it matter if he ends up sleeping for nineteen hours out of the day or more?

He could make up excuses as to  _why_ he slept so often, telling everyone that he was just lazy, or that he didn't feel well. He always lied though, somehow unable to admit that the reason he never wanted to be awake was because he just wanted to  _dream._ Because in his dreams, everything was always  _right,_ always  _happy._ It was the only time he ever felt  _whole._

It was always Kuroha he dreamed about. Always simple things, like watching a movie together, Kuroha attempting to teach him how to cook (and it never ended well, even in dreams), or the two of them just sitting around and talking to one another. Sometimes they would argue with each other, sometimes everything went smoothly. Sometimes nothing happens at all, and the two of them just silently _exist._  He didn't honestly care what they were doing, the important part was always that Kuroha was there, that they were together.

Sometimes they hold hands, and he likes those dreams best. Kuroha's hands are always cold against his own (even if the feeling isn't real), but he never minds, never complains about it. He's grateful for it even, because he's warm where Kuroha isn't, and that gives them an excuse to touch.

Sometimes they kiss, and those are the dreams he always tries his hardest to hold onto. They don't happen often (because even in his mind, Kuroha doesn't give outright displays of affection so easily), but they're what he looks forward to, what he craves. He clings to those dreams for as long as he can, desperately wishing they could last an eternity.

But they don't, because nothing ever lasts. It's a fact he's reminded of each and every time he wakes up. Because it isn't Kuroha waking him up any longer, and Kuroha is never waiting for him. He never  _really_ hears that voice now, and he knows he'll never touch the other again, knows things won't ever be the same no matter how desperately he tries to cling to the past.

He sleeps a lot more than usual lately, because he no longer has a reason to be awake.


	28. Chapter 28

"...Are you sure you really want to do this?" he questions yet again, giving Konoha a long look. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't shocked that  _Konoha_ had actually asked him if they could have sex, because hadn't  _he_ been the only one that wanted that? "I don't want you to be doing this just for me. So if you don't--"

"Kuroha." Konoha shuts him up with a kiss, one that he gladly,  _eagerly_ returns. "It's okay." Another brief kiss, followed by a soft smile. "I want this. I promise."

He nods slowly in response, giving Konoha one more careful look before leading him to their bed, pushing him down and climbing on top of him before kissing him once more. Their lips meet again and again, and his hands slowly slide underneath Konoha's shirt, roaming across bare skin. He can't help but appreciate how  _warm_ Konoha is (and he's always warm, but somehow this is different), and to feel self-conscious about how  _cold_ his own hands are in comparison. He mumbles out a brief "Sorry" in-between kisses, before pulling back slightly and tugging Konoha's shirt off over the boy's head.

His own shirt follows soon after, and he wastes no time in leaning down to kiss at Konoha's neck. He's gentle, even though he so desperately wants to  _bite,_ to leave dark, bruising  _marks_ across Konoha's pale skin; but he restrains himself  _because_ it's Konoha, because he doesn't want to risk doing anything to make the other unhappy. His lips leave a trail of gentle kisses down Konoha's neck, to his chest, lingering there before moving down even further.

He sits up now, giving Konoha another careful look as his hands move to rest at the waistline of the other's pants. "...You're sure about this?" he asks once more. "...You're  _really_ sure?" He receives a nod in response, and it's all the okay he needs before finally sliding Konoha's pants down. He feels unnaturally nervous, not out of lack of experience (because while Konoha may have never done this before,  _he_ certainly had), but because he was still fearful that he might upset the other somehow, still not quite sure that Konoha  _actually_ wanted this.

His fears are proven to be more than just conjecture a moment later, when he finally reaches out to touch Konoha and the boy flinches in response. He pulls his hand back almost immediately, sitting back and looking down at Konoha for a long moment. "...You don't want this." he finally says, and this time it isn't a question.

Konoha averts his eyes. "I..."

"...Why'd you lie about it?"

Konoha flinches again. "...You... wanted to. ...I wanted to make you happy."

He blinks slowly in response to that, letting out a long sigh moments later. He pulls Konoha's pants back up, flopping down on the bed beside him afterwards and pulling the boy towards himself. "...You already make me happy, you idiot." He kisses the top of Konoha's head. "Don't force yourself. I'm just taking advantage of you otherwise, and that's..." Another sigh. "I do that to enough people, I don't need to be doing that to you."

"...Sorry." Konoha mumbles, voice small.

"...It's fine. Just... don't do that again." A shrug. "I can wait. And if you're never ready, if you never want to... I can live with that, too."


	29. Chapter 29

Kuroha watches in mild amazement as he watches Konoha finish off what he’s pretty sure is the boy’s fifteenth box of pocky. He’d made the mistake of actually telling Konoha about Pocky Day, almost immediately regretting it when Konoha had proceeded to drag him to the store to buy  _fifty_ boxes of the stuff. He honestly wasn’t sure how he managed to afford living with Konoha sometimes, what with as much food as he was forced to buy.

"…How much of that are you planning to eat today..?" he questions, giving Konoha an exasperated look when the boy starts to open his sixteenth box. He can’t quite understand the muffled response he receives, as Konoha decides to shove the _entirety_ of the box’s contents into his mouth at once before attempting to speak. “Swallow before you try to talk, you animal.”

It takes him a few minutes, but Konoha eventually finishes with his food, taking a quick drink before finally answering. “…I’m gonna eat all of it today.”

"…Konoha, you bought _fifty_ boxes.” A pause. “…No, you made _me_ buy fifty boxes.” A sigh. “You’ll make yourself sick if you eat that much all at once. Don’t overdo it.”

Konoha frowns, though he doesn’t seem to be at all deterred from picking up yet another box. “…Then…” He blinks when Konoha offers the box to him. “You should help..!”

"…You know I hate sweets, Kono." he points out, shaking his head. "Just save some for another day."

"…But…" Konoha’s lower lip sticks out in a pout. "You should really have some, too… It’s not fair if it’s just me…"

He sighs, thinking that he’s going to have to explain to Konoha _again_ that he’s a picky eater, because Konoha doesn’t seem to understand the concept of not liking any type of food. He opens his mouth to explain once again, when a thought strikes him. “…You want me to eat some too, right?”

Konoha nods in response. “Yeah..!”

"…Then I will. But I have a condition." Konoha gives him a confused look. He grabs one piece of pocky, sticking it in Konoha’s mouth. "…I’ll share. But it has to be the same one."

Konoha doesn’t seem to understand at first when he takes the other end in his own mouth, but he gets the idea soon enough. This way, Konoha still ends up eating most of the pocky, and Kuroha himself gets a prize.

It doesn’t take long for their lips to meet, and he pulls Konoha closer, deepening the kiss a bit more than is necessary. He doesn’t care for the sweet taste in Konoha’s mouth, but he’ll put up with it for the time being. The kiss doesn’t last long, and he pulls away to study a somewhat-stunned Konoha.

"…That’s the only way I’m eating any." he comments, watching the other.

Konoha blinks slowly before grabbing another piece of pocky, and this time he’s the one to stick it in Kuroha’s mouth. “…That takes a while and there’s a lot left…” Konoha mumbles. “…So we better keep going.”


	30. Chapter 30

He's greeted by Konoha the instant he steps through the door, not even able to call out his usual "I'm home" before Konoha all but tackles him. He stumbles back, somehow managing to stay upright. "Konoha... What are you--"

"I missed you, Kuro..!" Konoha finally lets go of him, taking a step back and smiling at him. His heart skips a beat, just like it always does when Konoha looks at him like that, and he averts his eyes the moment he feels his face start to heat up. "Oh..! I already got your dinner ready, so..!"

"... _You_ made dinner?" he asks, making a face. "I'm hungry, but I don't know if I'm  _that_ desperate to eat right now."

"No, I ordered a pizza..." 

"...Well, in that case." He follows Konoha further inside now, flopping down on the couch once they reach the living room. Konoha brings two boxes of pizza over a moment later, one for each of them, setting them both down on the table before taking his usual spot next to him. "Thanks, Kono..." he mumbles, reaching for the food before tearing into it.

"Mmhmm..!" Konoha picks up his own slice of pizza now, pausing just before he actually takes a bite. "...Hey, Kuro..? Can we watch a movie tonight..?"

He waits until he's finished chewing to respond. "...Yeah. Go ahead, you can pick this time." He regrets letting the other choose a moment later when Konoha's movie of choice ends up being one of the overly-cheesy romcoms the boy love so much (but of  _course_ that was his choice, because it was either that or a kid's movie). He sighs to himself, but doesn't make any sort of comment, resigning himself to his fate and settling in for what he's sure is going to be a long night.

They both end up finishing off their pizzas before the movie is even fifteen minutes in, and Konoha takes to making a running commentary throughout the remainder of the movie. He occasionally joins in with a remark or two, mostly because he knows it makes Konoha happy when he actually pays attention to the movie. It isn't until one of the cliché romance scenes happens, a scene where it's implied the two main characters have just had sex, that Konoha falls oddly silent. "...Kono..?" He frowns, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie once he gets a good look at the other. "...Oy. What's wrong?"

"...Nothing." Konoha reaches for the remote, only to fail when Kuroha pulls it out of his reach.

"It's not 'nothing'." he argues, frowning. "...You're thinking about it again, aren't you?"

Konoha is silent for a long while, and it feels almost like an eternity has passed before he eventually nods. "...Yeah."

"...I told you not to worry about it."

"But... You'd be happier if we..." Konoha gestures at the paused movie. "...Relationships are supposed to involve sex, aren't they? It always... makes people happy. And I know that you want to, but..." The boy lets out a whine, pointedly looking away.

"Hey, calm down." A sigh. "...First of all, it's... common for relationships to involve sex, yeah, but... Some go without." A gesture at the TV. "These movies aren't really the best way to judge a relationship, anyways. And second of all..." He reaches out to Konoha now, pulling the other against his chest and holding him there. "...Sure. At one point I really wanted to do that with you." He kisses the top of Konoha's head. "...But I don't really care about that now. I like you. I like being with you." A shrug. "...That's all that really matters." He pulls back slightly, waiting until Konoha looks at him. "...So stop worrying about it, okay?"

Konoha nods slowly, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. "H-Hey, don't cry about it... You--"

He's cut off when Konoha kisses him, when the other mumbles a "thank you" against his lips. He doesn't remember what point he was about to make, and decides it doesn't matter anyways, not when there are more important things happening now.

They never do unpause their movie, both of them too wrapped up in the other to really care about anything else around them.


	31. Chapter 31

He doesn’t say anything when he pulls the door to the house open, doesn’t even acknowledge Kuroha (who’s playing games in the living room  _again_ ) as he tiredly treks back to their room. He can hear Kuroha call out to him, but doesn’t bother to listen, simply collapsing into the bed and laying there in an outright refusal to move. It takes a few minutes, but the sound of Kuroha’s game in the other room stops, and he can hear the other’s footsteps approaching soon after.

"…Konoha..?" Kuroha takes a few steps into the room, stopping a short distance away from him. "…What’s going on? Not like you to just ignore me like that."

"…Sorry." he mumbles in response. His gaze remains firmly rooted in the ceiling, with no physical acknowledgement of the other’s presence. "…I had a bad day."

"…Do you wanna talk about it?" He shakes his head in response to that question, because he _definitely_ isn’t in the mood to talk right now. “…Alright.” Kuroha lets the subject drop surprisingly easily, and he doesn’t hear the other leave, but a quick glance tells him that he’s no longer in the room.

He groans to himself, rolling over and curling in on himself, vaguely regretting running Kuroha off like that (because even if he didn’t want to talk, he also didn’t really want to be _alone_ ). He doesn’t have long to dwell on it before he feels something moving across his arm though, jerking upright and away from whatever was touching him.

It’s a snake, he realises, and not just any snake, it’s _Kuroha_. “…Thanks, Kuro.” he mumbles, picking the creature up and holding it close. He receives a faint hiss in response, the snake apparently content to let him do what he wanted.

He feels a lot better, having something to hold onto while he’s upset, and he starts talking before he really realises what he’s doing. “…People are still mean to me all the time.” he mumbles, absently petting Kuroha. “They say I’m weird looking. Or that I’m slow. Or call me stupid when I ask questions…” A sigh. “…I wish they’d stop.” Kuroha only silently looks up at him, flicking his tongue out on occasion.

"…Thank you, Kuro… You can change back now." The snake complies, and in a few seconds Kuroha is now the one holding him. "…You didn’t have to do that."

"It helped, didn’t it?" Kuroha mumbles, kissing the top of his head. He nods in reply. "…Then I don’t mind." A pause. "…Do you want me to stay?" He nods once more in answer, and receives another kiss in return. "…Then I will."


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soul Eater AU.

"Oy. Quit slacking, Konoha." Kuroha frowns, rapping his meister on the back of the head. "We’re so close to our goal now that I can  _taste_ it.” The weapon licks at his lips. “Just nine more evil souls, and then a witch. And I’ll  _finally_ be a death scythe.” He scowls, looking to his meister once more. “…So why the hell aren’t we  _hunting_ right now?”

"…In a minute." Konoha responds, yawning into the back of his hand before leaning up against the wall of a nearby building. They’d been out on patrol all night, searching for any corrupt humans from which to reap souls, aiming to bolster Kuroha’s power further. Or, that’s what they were  _supposed_ to be doing, but they weren’t exactly making much progress thanks to a certain white-haired meister. “…I’m tired. Can’t we do this tomorrow night..?” 

”No.” Kuroha growls. “You’ll just complain about how you’re tired tomorrow night, too. You’re  _always_ tired. Just  _get over it_ and let’s—” The weapon pauses when he hears a faint snore coming from the other, and he can’t even bring himself to be surprised to find that Konoha managed to fall asleep leaned up against the building. “…I ended up with the most  _useless_ meister…” Kuroha grumbles, rolling his eyes before turning away and deciding he didn’t _need_ his meister to reap a soul.

He doesn’t make it far, however, pausing once he realises that an unwanted guest has made an appearance in the midst of his ranting. The creature’s appearance is warped, grotesque, but the smell of it’s soul is  _definitely_ human. “…Well, well. And here I thought I’d have to go searching, but it looks like a meal just showed up.” The meal in question lets out a laugh before rushing straight at Konoha. The meister is blinking awake now thanks to the ruckus, but is nowhere near coherent enough to register the danger rushing right at him. _  
_

A scream cuts through the air moments later, and the corrupt human staggers backwards, blood spurting from a new wound on its shoulder. Kuroha’s arm has morphed into whip-like blade, blood now dripping off the end of it. “…Don’t touch my meister.”

Konoha finally seems to grasp the situation at hand, urging Kuroha to change forms not a moment later. The weapon complies, and soon Konoha is wielding him. It takes no time at all, really, because while Konoha may be a slacker the majority of the time, his combat prowess is on a completely different level than anyone else in his class. With just a few seemingly effortless motions, the meister has used Kuroha to reduce their opponent to little more than mincemeat, cutting the creature into more pieces than is necessary to finish it off.

Kuroha reverts back to his human form as soon as he can, claiming their foe’s soul for himself and swallowing it down whole. “…Eight more and a witch to go.” he comments, grinning. “I’ll be unstoppable soon.”

"…Hey, Kuro." Konoha draws the weapon’s attention once more. "When you turn into a death scythe… You’ll still be my weapon, right? You’re not gonna leave..?"

Kuroha blinks several times, frowning slightly. “…Why would I go anywhere?  _You’re_ my meister, right?” A shrug. “Besides… aren’t too many people who can properly wield a whip sword. It’d be a huge hassle trying to find someone else with any talent.”

"…Yeah." Konoha nods. "…Thanks, Kuro." Konoha grabs his weapon’s hand now, lacing their fingers together before leading him off. "…Come on, we got our soul for tonight. Let’s go home." Kuroha simply follows wordlessly behind him, deciding that he can settle for just the one soul, at least for tonight.


	33. Chapter 33

It had been a complete accident, finding out Kuroha’s weakness; it had turned out to be a rather _happy_ accident, but an accident nonetheless. He’d just been sitting next to the other as usual, watching Kuroha play one of his shooting games. He hadn’t been sure how long Kuroha had been at it, but judging off of how _tired_ the looked, he’d been playing for longer than was healthy. “…Kuro, your hair’s all messed up…” he’d mentioned in an attempt to get Kuroha’s attention. “Your ponytail even came undone…”

"It’s fine." Kuroha had muttered, his gaze refusing to drift from the screen for even a second to acknowledge him.

He’d sighed in frustration, reached out for the other despite Kuroha’s protests. “I’ll fix it _for_ you, then.” And that’s exactly when it had happened. He’d just been trying to pull Kuroha’s hair back, and his fingers had brushed against the back of Kuroha’s neck… And he’d frozen. Kuroha had frozen for a moment, before relaxing more than Konoha had _ever_ witnessed before.

"…Kuro..?" He hadn’t gotten a response, and Kuroha had had an odd, almost content look on his face. He’d reached out again, experimentally petting at the back of Kuroha’s neck once more and producing the same reaction. "…Do you _like_ that..?” Kuroha hadn’t responded to that, but then, he hadn’t _needed_ to, with the way he kept urging Konoha to keep doing that.

And he hadn’t been able to stop doing it since then. Anytime they had an argument, he’d just reach for the back of Kuroha’s neck. Every time Kuroha got worked up, he’d pet him. Any time he wanted to sleep and Kuroha protested, he’d use his weak point against him. Kuroha himself wasn’t thrilled with this discovery of course, and he’d often get irritated with Konoha for exploiting it… But then, Konoha had ways of dealing with that now.


	34. Chapter 34

Konoha fidgets nervously in his seat, staring intensely at his computer screen. There's a notification that just won't stop flashing on his screen, a Skype message from one Kisaragi Shintaro. He doesn't bother to answer his friend though, because he's waiting on something important, and he refuses to miss even a second of it. His eyes keep drifting to the clock on the lower right of his screen, and he slowly grows more and more agitated the further away from midnight it gets.

It's not until a sigh of frustration finally leaves his lips that another notification pops up on his screen, and this,  _this,_ is  _exactly_ what he's been waiting on. The message **[** **Kuro ♥! is now online]** flashes on his screen, and he hurriedly clicks into a conversation with the other. He doesn't waste any time, immediately clicking the video call button and starting to fidget once more as he waits for Kuroha to answer.

It takes several long moments that feel like an eternity, but Kuroha face finally pops up on the screen. The other boy looks tired, his hair sticking up in odd places while his eyes said that he definitely hadn't had enough caffeine to still be awake right now. "Kuro! Kuro!" He waves in excitement, grinning. "I've missed you..!" _  
_

"...I've only been gone for a day, Konoha." Kuroha grumbles in response. Even though he's doing his best to sound irritated, it's completely obvious that Kuroha is happy to see him, too, what with the way he almost immediately perks up.

"I know." He glances down for a moment. "...It feels like way longer than that, though. It's weird not having you around."

"...Sorry." Kuroha scratches at the back of his head, frowning. "It'll only be for a week. You can make it that long, right..?"

"That's such a long time..." he complains, pouting.

"I'll call you every day. And send texts when I can. It'll be fine; I'll be back before you know it."

"...Okay." He eventually nods in response, which seems to please Kuroha. A brief silence settles over them, the both of them just looking at each other until Kuroha starts up the small talk. It's nothing much, just asking how his day had gone, reminding him to take care of things around the house, making sure he still had enough money to last the rest of the week... It was simple talk, but somehow even that made him feel better about the other being gone, about Kuroha being so far away. He doesn't even notice that an hour has already passed until Kuroha points it out.

"Hey... It's getting kinda late, Konoha." Kuroha glances behind himself for a moment, though he can't see what the boy is looking at. "I've gotta be up kinda early, so... It's time for bed, I think."

"...Okay." he mumbles, and he can't quite manage to hide the disappointment in his voice. "Hey... Kuro..?"

"Hmm?"

"...Do you miss me, too?"

A slight pause. "...Yeah." Kuroha offers him a tired half-smile. "I miss you a lot, Kono."

"Sorry..." He apologises, even though he's not entirely sure what for. "Oh..! Um! Good night, though..! I love you!" He makes a heart with his hands and offers Kuroha a proper smile.

"'Night, Kono. ...I love you, too." It's the last thing he hears before the video cuts off, before Kuroha goes offline on his contacts. It's the phrase he repeats over and over again to himself as he lays down in bed, trying to pretend that he isn't having to sleep completely alone tonight. It's the thought he holds onto for the next six days, because he knows he can wait that long if it's for Kuro.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning for heavy gore.**

"Wh-What are you doing..?" Konoha struggles uselessly against his restraints, wide eyes frantically darting back and forth between his own body and the one holding him captive here. "L-Let me go... I..." His tormentor doesn't say anything in response to him, and the only sound that can be heard aside from Konoha's rapidly-increasing breathing is that of several metal tools being sorted through. "What are y--?!"

Konoha's voice cuts off suddenly, his eyes growing wider still when something cold and sharp is pressed up against the bare skin of his abdomen. His breaths start coming even faster, shallow and desperate as his eyes lock onto the scalpel currently resting against his flesh. "...You're interesting, Konoha." the boy's tormentor,  _Kuroha,_ finally mumbles. Konoha doesn't answer him, is too  _afraid_ to answer him. "That body of yours was specially made, you know. You're _different._ "

The scalpel finally cuts into flesh, and Konoha's eyes squeeze shut in response, struggling not to cry out in pain as he's sliced open. "I love dissections, you know..." Kuroha mumbles, finishing off the first incision before starting his next. "And it's  _so_ much more fun when they're still  _alive._ " Konoha whimpers as the metal cuts through him, his hands balling into fists as he continues to fight against his restraints. Kuroha clicks his tongue. "Ah, ah... The more you struggle the less accurate I'll be. I might end up cutting off something important." A wicked smile. "...We don't want that, do we?"

"St-Stop it..." Konoha finally manages to spit the words out, tears slowly spilling out of his eyes as Kuroha only continues to hurt him. "Please stop..."

"Stop?" A laugh. "...We haven't even gotten to the fun part yet." Kuroha carefully peels back the layers of skin he's cut into, revealing the muscle underneath. Konoha's cries of protest only intensify, his struggling growing more frantic, desperate. "Mmmm. Nothing special yet." Another smile. "...Guess I'll just go a little deeper."

Konoha can't hold back a scream this time as Kuroha cuts into him once more, as his flesh is sliced and pulled apart little by little. "St-Stop it..! Stop it, it hurts..! _It hurts, **it--!**_ " Cries of protest break off into choked sobs, tears freely flowing from the victim's eyes now. Konoha's wrists have been rubbed raw now, bloodied and battered from repeated attempts to force his way out of the shackles holding him. His hands continue to clench and unclench, noises somewhere in-between sobs and screams leaving him as he struggles to cope with the amount of pain coursing through him.

"Now,  _this..._ " Kuroha reaches one hand out to caress Konoha's now-exposed innards. He takes a deep breath, an unnerving smile spreading across his face. " _This_ is my favourite part. When all of your pretty little insides are exposed... When they're all right here for me to play with..." He grips a string of Konoha's intestines, lifting them out and dragging them up to Konoha's face. "...Your organs are gorgeous, aren't they?"

Konoha only whines in response, his body convulsing, eyes impossibly wide as he's forced to stare at his own innards. Kuroha drops the section of intestines, letting them fall to the floor as he sticks his hands back inside of his victim. He lets his hands wander, touching different organs as he explains to Konoha what he's doing the entire time. "...The small intestine..." Fingers ghosting over the part in question, Konoha's desperate sobs of agony. "Your stomach..." Kuroha squeezes that one, earns another scream for his trouble. "Liver... Mm, a bit of digging to get to your kidneys..."

"Ah, but you won't last much longer now." The words don't even seem to faze Konoha, though neither of them are sure if it's because he's too far gone to understand, or if it's because at this point he  _wants_ to die. "I'd better get to the best part while I still can..." Kuroha's hands travel up further, fingers hooking onto one of Konoha's ribs. "...Just have to get rid of a small obstacle first. Hey, Konoha..?" One hand cups Konoha's face as the other tightens its grip. "...Will you scream one last time for me?"

The sharp  _snap_ of bone resonates throughout the room not a moment later, followed by the desperate cries of Konoha as he begs for the other to stop, to  _please, please **just let me die already.**  _Another  _snap,_ another scream. Another, another.

"Good boy, Konoha." Kuroha mumbles, wiping at the boy's tears with his thumb. "We're almost done now. You can rest soon." He smiles once more, taking one last look at the boy before him. A broken visage, stained with tears, and a beautiful view of  what he would consider perfect innards. "...I'd almost say that I loved you, in a way." he mumbles, more to himself than to Konoha. "...Do you want me to stop now?" He doesn't receive a response, Konoha's eyes already starting to lose their shine. "Mmm. I suppose it's time to finish." He reaches inside the other one last time, hand closing around Konoha's heart before he rips the faintly-beating organ out.

"Good night."


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persona 4 crossover

Konoha doesn’t remember having fallen asleep, but here he is waking up, blinking slowly and pushing himself up and off the floor.  _The floor?_ He hadn’t fallen asleep on his bed? His confusion only grows as he finally takes in his surroundings, because this place  _definitely_ isn’t his home.

He can’t even truly see where this is, thanks to a thick fog covering the area like a suffocating blanket. Vague shapes move about in the distance, accompanied by muffled noises. None of the shapes seem to notice him, and he’s fairly certain he doesn’t _want_ them to. “…Where..?” His own voice sounds small, insignificant, swallowed up by the dense fog.

He almost doesn’t hear the footsteps steadily approaching him, turning to notice a figure heading towards him. Something about the figure seems off, _dangerous_ , but it isn’t until they stop to stand before him that he realises _why_. It takes him a moment to make out the other’s features, mist swirling around them until the fog immediately surrounding them mysteriously vanishes. His eyes grow wide as he looks at the figure, the _man_ , in front of him, and he stumbles back a step.

It’s _him_. The figure staring at him is an almost perfect copy of _him_. Face, structure, height, everything. The only differences were that this other him had black hair, and his eyes were an eerie yellow. “Well, well. Look what we have here.” And that’s even his _voice_. It’s distorted and warped, but it’s _his_. “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever wake up.”

"Wh-Who are you..?" Another step back. "Why do you… Why do you look like me..?"

"I wonder…" The other muses, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Hey… Konoha…" A wicked smile spreads across the other’s face. "Or… Should I say _Haruka_?”

He flinches at that remark, retreating yet another step. “Wh-What..? I’m not…”

"That’s what you’re always called, isn’t it? It’s always _Haruka_ this, and _Haruka_ that. If it isn’t that it’s always “Why can’t you remember me _Haruka_?”” He flinches each and every time the name “Haruka” is said, his other self laughing at the response.

"You _hate_ it.” He doesn’t deny it, _can’t_. “You hate that no one ever sees you as Konoha. You hate that everyone is always urging you to remember things that you _can’t_. You hate that no one cares about _you_ , only who they _want_ you to be.” A pause, and the other’s expression darkens. “…You hate _them_.”

"N-No I don’t…" The denial feels weak, even to himself. "I don’t hate them. They’re my friends, I don’t…"

“ _Liar._ " The other moves closer now, and he stumbles over himself trying to back away, falling to floor. "They aren’t _your_ friends, they’re _Haruka’s_. They don’t care about _you_. They never consider _your_ feelings. It’s never anything but “ _Why aren’t you more like him?_ ”, and you can’t _stand_ it.” He raises his hands to cover his ears, but it doesn’t make any difference. He can still hear everything, still can’t escape from this twisted reflection of his own thoughts. Still can’t _deny_ it.

"You can’t stand the things they say. You can’t stand that they never see you as anything but a cheap imitation. You hate that they never see you for _you_.” A pause. “…You hate _them_.”

"I don’t..! I don’t hate them..! I…" He glares up at his other self, tears stinging his eyes. "Who are you..? Why are you saying these things..? I don’t…"

Another smile. “…I think we both know the answer to that. I’m _you_.”

"N-No, you’re not…"

"Am I _wrong_? Can you truly deny anything I’ve said? …No, you can’t, can you? Because they’re _you’re_ thoughts. Because I’m _you_.”

"You’re not…" He shakes his head. "You’re wrong. You’re wrong, you aren’t… You aren’t me..!"

One last smile, and the fog starts to gather around his other self. “…That’s right. I’m not you any longer. I’m _me_.” His double’s eyes narrow. “…And there’s no more need for _you_.”


End file.
